Ghost Rider: Vengeance
by Deke Thomas
Summary: Robbie Reyes has had a difficult life and now add the Rider to the equation. Ghost Riders travels New York in his Hellcharger taking vengeance upon the criminal scum in the city.
1. Good Samaritan

Robbie Reyes and his little brother Gabe were currently seated in their uncle Eli's old Mustang, cruising around the neighborhood before the race they had to get to.

They lived in a shitty neighborhood, filled with crime and violence. There was no other way to put it. Robbie wanted to get enough money so they could move into a safer place so he signed up for an illegal race.

"You are not allowed to help me with my homework," Gabe said and Robbie gave him a weird look. "If you tried you would only help me fail."

"See, that's just not right," Robbie smirked. "I'm your brother and you say that?" They both laughed and continued down the street.

As they drove down the street together, joking and teasing on one another as usual, another car pulled up in front of their car, holding members of the Fifth Street Locos who were supposed to race Robbie.

When Robbie honked his horn, trying to get them to move out of his way, he was horrified to witness them throwing a molotov cocktail at them, causing the front of theMustang to be engulfed in flames.

Reyes put the car in reverse and used his driving skills to attempt to escape their attackers. The Mustang roared forward and gained a bit of distance before the Locos caught up with them and drove side by side.

Robbie turned and stared as his little brother. Pure fear and regret was etched into Robbie's face as he gripped the wheel harder, an uneasy feeling running through his body.

Because of him his little brother was going to die and there was nothing he could do about it. He had let him come along, knowing the dangers of it.

Suddenly, a cascade of bullets were fired upon the brothers as the Locos sped away with tires screeching. Robbie's grip on the wheel loosened and it jerked to the side, causing the car to flip rapidly.

Glass and pieces of metal soared through the air along with Robbie's body, screaming in fear. During the flip Robbie was thrown threw the windshield and into the air.

When he was thrown fromthe car he begged God, he begged the universe, he begged anyone who would listen, that Gabe would be spared. He swore that he'd give anything to save him.

Then, Robbie hit the street... and he died. And there was nothing. It was just darkness. Then he heard a voice. It was asking him if he wanted a second chance. Did he want to punishthose who hurt his brother? Did he want to avenge his own death? He answered yes. More than anything, yes.

And he was alive again on the pavement. He heard a motorcycle pull up with a growl. Someone who Robbie couldn't get a good full look at stepped off and pulled Gabe from the hunk of metal that was once the Mustang.

Then, he saw the man from head to toe as the flaming skull dressed in a leather jacket stepped towards him. Robbie knew it wasn't a good Samaritan. It was the devil.

A soulless face with pitch black sockets where eyes should be stared down at him as flames crackled from the crashed Mustang and from he skull of the man.

The man crouched down and place his hand on Robbie's skull and whatever was inside of him, he passed it onto Robbie.


	2. One Year Later

If things weren't miserable enough for Robbie, now he'd helped strip the most incredible woman he'd ever seen down to her underwear after burning her. The irony wasn't lost on him but at least it'd been an accident.

He'd needed a coffee refill and had been charging next door to May's to get one and instead he'd now seen a stunning woman who seemed determined to tempt him through her laughter and teasing into making an even bigger fool of himself.

Stacy was amazing, and he absolutely couldn't ask her out right now. Or ever. Robbie was continuing to stare determinedly anywhere but at her while Alex did a quick exam.

"I think you'll survive," Alex, Stacy's best friend said. "Maybe just a first-degree burn, like a sunburn, on your belly. You can treat it with aloe if you want, but should be fine if you don't."

"Thank you." Stacy sounded like she was shivering. "I'm sure all this cold air is helping."

A clean oil rag smacked Robbie in the face. "Hey," His boss Paul said from the door. "Don't you have something you can lend her?"

Grateful for a reason to escape, Robbie nodded and headed to his locker. It sat on the far side of the garage, past the three bays that were filled with cars. He had a couple of spare outfits stuffed in there in case he was too grimy to go home in what he had on, and could lend Stacy one. John was sitting on the bench next to the lockers, sipping his beer

"Is Alex done?" He asked, peering around Robbie.

"Not yet."

John slumped and made a face at his drink. Robbie ignored him as he pulled out a pair of drawstring sweatpants and a worn Guns-N-Roses T-shirt. Hopefully, Stacy's jacket would be okay for her to wear home, because he didn't have a spare.

"Tell Alex I'll wait right here," John said as Robbie walked back by.

"I don't know where else she'd think you'd go," Robbie replied. If those two didn't start making out soon, Robbie would lock them in a closet together.

Back in the spare office, he handed the clothes to Stacy without risking a glance.

"Thank you," she said, pulling the shirt on. "I'll return them tomorrow." Robbie finally let himself face her, only to find the shirt did an admirable job clinging to her curves.

"You can keep them. Looks better on you anyway." It really did. Anything she wore probably looked sexy as hell on her.

Stacy bit her lip. "Okay, Reyes."

"I'm going to finish my lunch break," Alex said, not giving him or Stacy time to say anything before she was beelining across the garage to where John was sitting. Robbie had known she wouldn't need instructions.

"I'll tell her thanks later." Stacy's smile was wide. "And thank you, too, I probably would have been a lot more burned if you hadn't helped me."

"Or not at all if I'd been watching where I was going." He felt terrible about hurting her, and the fire of the thing inside him licked along his nerves, reminding him what it could do.

"Phish, I'll be fine, and I have a cool new shirt. Plus, I got to meet you. Bonus." Her eyes were bright.

Robbie didn't want her to go, even if he knew he'd see her tomorrow. "Um, you new here?"

"This is my first January in Queens."

"Well, be careful if you're walking, you never know who you might bump into out there." As soon as the words left his mouth, Robbie groaned. Had he really just said that?

Stacy laughed. "Dude, I'm from Los Angeles. The freaking cockroaches drive convertibles and name drop out there. Here they just scurry away when you turn the lights on."

The human ones tried to when his lights came on. He shook his head. "Yeah, still, be careful, chica. It'd make me feel better."

"For you, then. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay." She put her coat on and walked out the door. Robbie's eyes followed her until she disappeared behind the BMW he was supposed to be doing an alignment on.

Sighing, Robbie went back to work. It didn't matter how cute she was. He couldn't get involved with her. He couldn't get involved with anyone. He'd traded his life for his brother's, and Gabe had to come first.

Damn, he really had needed that extra cup of coffee, the late nights were getting to him. "She's pretty cute, huh?" Paul asked as he worked on an oil change in the next bay.

Robbie grimaced. "I'm going to tell Elena you said that."

"And I'll tell her it was because I was trying to find out if you were interested in Stacy."

"I can't be. Gabe's going to be in college soon, and someone has to pay for it. Those books are not cheap."

"Shit!" John yelled from where he was doing whatever magic he did to make the vehicle work better. Robbie and Mack shared a look.

Turning back to the BMW, Robbie did his best to focus on nothing but the vehicle. Not Stacy and her smart mouth and georgious face, or his brother and the medical bills that were piling up, not the cost of a college education, and especially not the long nights he spent haunting the streets, the Ghost Rider egging him on and seeking endless vengeance.

At least Robbie didn't have to worry about his own health. The Rider would keep him whole for as long as Robbie was needed.

Though the jackass could maybe help out with the being tired part. Seriously. Flames danced under his skin for a moment, and Robbie immediately felt much better. Now that was more like it.

Late in the afternoon, the Rider became more active as Robbie changed a timing belt on a Toyota. It poked at Robbie's memories of the day's events and circled around and around the ones of Stacy. It was annoying.

Leave her alone, Robbie mentally snapped at the Rider. It didn't always understand human conventions. The Rider retreated to a corner of Robbie's mind, biding its time as it waited for nightfall.

...

At five o'clock, Robbie punched out, said goodbye to his boss and coworkers, and fired up his Ducati. The ride home wasn't long, especially on the bike, which was why he took it instead of the big, black 1969 Dodge Charger that sat parked in front of the old brownstone he shared with his Uncle Eli and Brother Gabe.

The car was his pride and joy, and he resented that it belonged to the Rider now too, though Robbie didn't mind that no matter what happened, the car remained pristine and in perfect working order.

His uncle's car wasn't there, which didn't surprise Robbie. Eli was rarely home. He worked for some big health or pharmaceutical company, doing hell knows what, and he'd often crash in his office instead of making the commute on weeknights.

Inside, Robbie unlaced his work boots and took off his overalls, chucking them into the washer on his way to the kitchen. Gabe was in his wheelchair at the kitchen table, homework spread out in front of him. He looked up and grinned at Robbie.

"Hey, how was work?" Gabe asked.

"It was there."

Gabe tapped a pencil on his notebook as Robbie scrubbed the oil off his hands in the kitchen sink. As he dried them, the tapping stopped, but Gabe was still sneaking glances at him.

"How was your chemistry test today?" Robbie questioned while pulling ground beef out of the fridge. He was going to make burgers for dinner, but with a salad on the side, even though Gabe would grouse at him. The kid needed a few veggies, and he sure wasn't getting them in the school cafeteria.

"Aced it."

"I knew you would."

"Thanks. Hey, anything interesting happen at work today?"

"Anything interesting happen at school?"

"No. Except this stupid chem homework." Gabe went back to it, and Robbie worked on dinner, ignoring how the Rider felt closer to the surface as the sun set.

Setting the burger and salad in front of Gabe, Robbie dumped hot sauce on his before joining his brother to eat.

Gabe took a bite, studying Robbie. "Something happened." Gabe said.

"Eat your food."

"Nah, Bro. Tell me."

"No."

"Damn, was it a girl? It's a girl, isn't it? Is she pretty? What's her name?"

The Rider was doing its equivalent of an eye roll at Robbie as he sighed. "Okay, shut up. Her name's Stacy, and she works at May's now."

"She talk to you or did you just make moon eyes at her?"

"We talked."

Gabe set his burger down. "Like talked ortalked."

"Like I spilled coffee on her and had to help her clean up. And she borrowed some of my extra clothes at the shop."

Gabe was grinning. "Oh man, are you going to go all weird when she gives them back and wear nothing else for a week?"

"No, because I'm not in high school, and I said she could keep them." Now he was thinking about his shirt clinging to Daisy's chest. Not what he needed when his life was already complicated with Eli's long hours, his job, the bills, and Gabe's schooling and physical therapy. There were a lot of responsibilities that came before dating. And no one would want to get involved with him, not with the Rider demanding so much time and attention.

Robbie's life had been a small price to pay for Gabe's. "Are you going to ask her out?"

"Eat."Gabe dropped his questions, for now. Robbie had no doubt they'd start up again tomorrow.

After dinner, they watched some TV before Gabe went to bed. Once Robbie was sure he was asleep, he donned his leather jacket and slipped out, holding the trash.

Robbie carried the trash to the alley behind his house, tossing it in a dumpster there. There was a flare in the dark as someone lit a cigarette.

The Rider seethed inside of Robbie. It shifted of him, eager to be on the prowl.

The guy smoking wasn't even paying attention to Robbie, wasn't even doing anything incriminating, but the Rider could sense the evil that rolled off of him in waves

Robbie walked further down the alley towards the man. The guy looked up. "You got a problem?" He asked, his hand going to his pocket. There was probably a knife there.

"No I don't have a problem," Robbie said as the flames consumed him. The Rider grimaced. "But You do."

The man turned to run but felt a strong hand grasp his shoulder and spin him around. The flaming skull growled at him before throwing him into a brick wall with force.

"Please, I don't want to die. I didn't do anything wrong!" The man pleaded.

"They all say that." The Rider growled. He looked directly into the man's eyes and saw every evil deed he had committed in his life.

The Rider, using his abilities, made the man feel all the pain and suffering he had dealt onto others. Then, ghost Rider hoisted him in the air and burned the man into ash.

The Rider made his way back to Robbie's driveway, pulling a pair of keys out of his pocket. Standing on the sidewalk and letting his eyes dart left and right.

Eventually, the Rider opened the Hellcharger's door and got in, taking off. There was evil there to burn.

His hands gripped the steering wheel as the muscle car roared with power and it continued down the street.

Everyone knew the legend of the Ghost Rider. It hunts down the evil shit bags in the city and makes them pay for what they've done.

The Charger turned the block and stopped. Ahead were three men dragging a subdued girl into a van and the rider watched as the Vans doors closed.

The Charger sped forward as its wheels and blower engulfed in flames and it collided into the back of the van, sending glass everywhere and destroying the back of the man, but not damaging the Charger because of the Rider's abilities.

Ghost Rider stepped out, swinging his keys in his hand as he walked up to the driver side door and dragged out the driver into the dirty street. "What the hell?"

The man's skull was repeatedly slammed into the pavement by the Rider as his blood splatters everywhere, painting the surroundings.

The Rider threw his body to the ground and turned around to see another one of the men with a shotgun. The thug fired the gun and watched as it didn't affect the flaming skull. The Rider charged and took the shotgun quickly.

He turned it around and shot the man directly in the face. The Rider liked the weapon, so he held onto it and rounded to the back doors of the vehicle.

He swung the doors open and stared at the terrified woman with a gun being held to her head by the final man. "Don't get any closer. I'll kill her! Believe me I'll do it!"

"I believe you." He growled as he swiftly raised the shotgun and fired it, using his powers with the gun so the bullets were now combined with his flames.

He grabbed the girl as the man burned to death and brought her outside. He ripped her restraints off and removed the tape off of her mouth without saying anything.

He turned, heading for his charger. "Who are you?" The rider turned to the girl and said nothing and then continued until he was back in his car. "Thank you!" She said as the Charger pulled back and then speed down the street.


	3. Shouldn't Be Happening

The alarm blared far too early, and Robbie had to drag himself out of bed.

Gabe was already up and dressed, his bag on his knees. He took one look at Robbie and made a face. "Better scrub that scowl off in the shower or thisStacy is going to run in the other direction. Actually, you know what, just scrub off your whole face."

"Thanks. Have a good day at school. I'm making mom's enchiladas for dinner, alright? Don't eat the crap they pretend are those are real ones in the cafeteria."

"Got it. Maybe try cologne for the stinky attitude?"

Robbie was glad to shut the door behind Gabe. The night had been long and rough. He'd taken down some chop shop, could remember the screams and the eyes of the men the Rider had judged.

There'd been pain, too. Someone had slashed Robbie across the back, the knife biting deep. The Rider had healed it immediately, along with his clothing. Good thing, because Robbie could not afford another jacket.

Robbie dumped hot water in the coffee maker, turned it on, and went to grab a shower while it brewed. Buying a cup from May's did not sound like a great idea after the way he'd embarrassed himself yesterday.

After he finished and dressed for work, he remembered his coffee, only to find nothing but a pot of hot water waiting for him. He'd forgotten the actual grounds. That's what he got for trying to make coffee before having coffee.

Sighing, he grabbed his keys and hustled to his bike. He would have to stop at May's, and somehow not look once at the new barista.

Hi!" Stacy said brightly to what had to be the eighteenth-million customer that morning. "How can I help you?"

"Double-shot, no whip, soy milk latte extra hot." The women with glasses and a severe updo barked. Stacy typed in the order and glanced at Davis, who nodded that he'd heard.

"Five twenty-five." Stacy said, and the woman paid with exact change.

"I'm glad to see May finally hired more help." The woman sniffed as she moved to the side.

Stacy plastered on a smile and turned to help the next customer. It'd been a trial by fire all morning, but she hadn't messed up—much—as she'd learned to work the register while Davis made the drinks. She had no clue how he'd been doing this alone because even with the two of them it was overwhelming.

The cinnamon muffins had been sold out in thirty minutes of the store opening at five-thirty am, but Davis had kept two under the counter for him and Stacy, and she was so looking forward to her break.

By eight-thirty the worst of the rush was over, though the tables were still full of customers reading the paper as they slowly drank their coffees and woke up.

"Good job," Davis said, patting her back. "That was the first morning in a while no one left because the line was too long. I'm glad you're here."

Stacy laughed. "It was a war zone about seven."

"Man, it is always like that. I'm surprised we don't have to mop blood off the tiles with everyone trying to get to work. Now let me show you how to clean the espresso machines."

They'd just gotten one of them apart when the door chimed. Stacy hurried to the register, glancing up to find she was looking at the top of Robbie's head while he apparently admired his shoes. "Hi Robbie, do you want a black coffee?"

He grunted and nodded, still not looking at her. Stacy rolled her eyes. "Coming right up. Buck twenty-five."

She plucked a cup from the holder and filled it up from the coffee machine. The warmth was nice in her hand. She put a lid on it and set it down beside the five quarters Robbie had dropped on the counter.

He muttered something that was probably a thanks, keeping his eyes on anything that wasn't her, and turned to walk towards the door.

Stacy frowned as she dumped the quarters in the till. There was something wrong, the bottom hem of his untucked white shirt was stained red. To her horror, she watched blood drip from it to the tiles.

"Robbie!" She yelled, jumping over the counter and running to him. "Wait, you're bleeding!"

He turned in confusion towards her. Pulling off her apron, she yanked the coffee from his hands, setting it on the table of a surprised patron, and grabbed the neck of his jacket, pulling it down and off his arms. His back was soaked with bright red blood. She pushed the apron against where she thought the blood was coming from and held tight.

"This can't be happening." He mumbled.

"I'm sure that's a perfectly valid way to handle this is some other reality." Stacy snapped.

May appeared beside him. "What's going on?" Robbie only shook his head, and she sighed. "I'm calling an ambulance."

"No," Robbie barked. "No, I don't have insurance coverage for that."

"Okay," May said softly. "Daisy, walk him down to Alex's clinic and have her decide what needs to be done."

"Yeah." She was terrified. It looked like so much blood. She kept the apron as tight against him as she could and steered Robbie out of the door and down the street. Neither of them were dressed right for the chilly weather, but she ignored it as she pushed him towards the clinic.

"Can't be happening," Robbie said again. "I'm not supposed to…can't be happening." There was a pause. "Great time to be fucking silent."

Stacy scoffed. Was he for real? "Well, sorry for not chatting while you're bleeding to death."

"Not you." He said tersely.

Maybe the blood loss was making him crazy. Or maybe he was already crazy and damn, wouldn't it be her luck to have a crush on a guy that got himself stabbed, probably because he'd been talking crap to people who weren't there and someone knifed him out of self-preservation.

At the clinic with its unassuming door with the words "Right Direction Care." printed on it, Stacy barged in, making the few people waiting on plastic chairs in the front room gasp.

The person at the front looked up. "Can I help you?" He asked, face alarmed.

"Tell Alex or Chris that Stacy's here with Robbie and he's bleeding."

The man disappeared into the back, and a moment later Chris rushed out. "Girl, what happened?"

"I Don't know."

Robbie stumbled a little as Chris dragged him through the door into the area where the exam rooms were. With a pair of trauma shears, he cut up the back of Robbie's t-shirt, exposing a gash between his shoulder blades. "Who did this to you?"

"Doesn't matter." Robbie said.

"Yeah, I bet it doesn't. I should tell you that it'd be a good idea to go to an actual ER, even though it's not that deep and most of the bleeding seems to have stopped."

Robbie's shoulders slumped. "That's going to be a couple of hundred dollars at least. Can't you sew it up? It's only forty to be seen here."

"Yeah," Chris said. "I'll do it."

"Thanks." Daisy said, and Robbie grunted.

"Lay on your stomach on the exam table," Chris told Robbie. "And I'll get some supplies."

Robbie did as he asked and Stacy pulled up a chair so she was sitting by Robbie's head.

Alex returned with Chris, and while Chris got set up, she pulled on gloves and poked at Robbie's back, making him grunt. "Just looking to make sure no bones were chipped," she said. "And I think we're good. It's a nice, clean cut. Should heal without too much scarring." Alex stepped back and pulled off her gloves. "Are you sure you don't want to tell us anything?"

"No." Robbie turned his face towards the wall.

"Thank you Alex." Stacy said since Robbie didn't seem to be about to.

"I'll just phone the garage and tell them he'll be a bit late." She pulled her phone out and dialed. "Hello, John, can you hand your mobile to Paul for a minute?" Alex walked out of the room.

Chris chuckled. "Of course she'd call his phone and not the business number. She's only got one of those memorized."

Robbie snorted.

Chris stood beside the exam bed with a tray of supplies on a small table. "I'm starting by cleaning the cut, might sting."

Stacy looked at the wall along with Robbie, not wanting to know too much about the whole process.

"So," she started. "Um, is your girlfriend going to be worried about this?" There was a muffled snort from Chris, and she shot him a look. He was grinning and had a bloody square of gauze in his hand. She quickly focused on the wall again.

"No girlfriend," Robbie said. "It's just my brother and me. We live at my uncle's place, but he's not home much."

"Ah."

"Gabe's a good kid. He'll be in college next year."

"What's he going to major in?" Chris asked.

"Science, I think."

Stacy crossed her legs. "Does he know where he wants to go?"

"Someplace expensive."

"That's, like, every place."

"Don't I know it?" Robbie hissed in a breath as Chris did something. "That's why I got a few years of nothing but working my ass off. He's getting the education he deserves."

Chris set something down that clicked against the table he was using. "How's he doing?"

"Good." There was a smile in Robbie's voice. "He's a pro with his chair now."

"Chair?" Stacy asked.

"There was an accident." Chris said. "I don't know how this idiot didn't die."

"Too stubborn," Robbie replied. "But I wish…well, doesn't matter now. Gabe's in a wheelchair. He's pretty much hell on wheels. Hates physical therapy, does it anyway."

"Sounds like he's a fighter."

"He ain't the only one." Chris was clipping a pair of hemostats onto a curved needle as Mark, the man front the front desk, walked into the room with Robbie's coat in one hand and an open energy drink can in the other.

He handed the coat to Stacy "Someone brought this by." She took it and draped it over another chair. "Need anything?" He asked Chris.

"More two-o silk."

Mark left, and Stacy wracked her brain, trying to think if she'd ever met him before. He seemed kind of forgettable, in the way that if you threw a rock in Iowa, you'd probably hit someone that looked just like him.

"I'm numbing things a little, so a stick and a burn, but you're still going to feel some tugging."

Robbie grimaced at Chris's words. Stacy mostly didn't want to think about it.

"Tell me something about yourself." Robbie said to her.

"There you go." Chris's voice was amused. "This one can talk about herself for hours."

"How do you know each other?"

Chris didn't say anything, which left Stacy holding the bag. "Um, we dated for a while when I first moved to New York. Now we're friends, and he makes sure I take care of myself once in a while."

Robbie grunted.

"She's not dating anyone either," Chris added. "And you're lucky I look after you. Who got you a job?"

Stacy rolled her eyes. "You."

"And who fixed up your wrist?"

"You?"

"You hurt your wrist?" Robbie asked.

Chris's chuckled. "Wait until you hear this."

Robbie turned his head to look at her, the paper on the exam table crinkling as he adjusted.

"Okay, well, when I'm not trying to serve coffee, I'm an actress. Kind of."

The corner of Robbie's mouth curled. "Kind of?"

"So far I've been girl in a dream number three, and over the holidays I was an angel that wordlessly helped several people down on their luck. I was billed as 'the silent angel'."

"Did they meet you before they cast you?" Robbie's grin was teasing.

Chris laughed. "This guy already has your number."

"I am totally an angel," Stacy said. "And you know it, Chris. Anyway, back to my wrist. Since my last play wrapped, I've been auditioning like crazy, until now when I'm serving coffee because I like living in an apartment."

Robbie made a sympathetic noise. "No luck?"

"Hell no. None. I didn't think I was that bad. I was desperate enough that I tried to teach myself to breakdance to land a gig as a backup dancer."

"In a day," Chris added. "She tried to learn in a day."

Stacy sighed. "In a day. And I wasn't terrible, exactly. I could do a lot of moves."

Chris scoffed.

"Let see you do a flare."

"Shit, I'm going to keep doing the stitch-Robbie's-ass-back-together move."

Robbie was making a face.

"Don't mind him," Stacy said with a wave. "So I was practicing doing coffee grinders and, uh…I smacked my leg into my wrist at full speed. I sat on the floor and cried for a while, then called Chris. He didn't think it was broken which was such a relief because I could not forever be the girl that broke her own arm dancing."

Robbie chuckled, but he sobered quickly. "Guess you didn't get the part."

"Didn't even try. It was about then I realized I needed to focus less on being a star and more on actually working. I think I'm going to like May's. The company is nice."

Robbie started to say something but broke off into a grunt. He winced.

"Sorry," Chris said. "this is the worst of it."

Robbie nodded and squeezed his eyes closed. He reached out with one of his hands and Stacy took it, threading her fingers with his.

They were rough and calloused from working on engines, but the skin on the back of his hand was smooth as she slid her thumb over it.

Robbie was a good-looking guy. She'd have to be dead not to notice that. He had kissable lips, and the rest of him was pretty nice too.

His hand tightened on hers, but he didn't make a sound.

Chris finished up the sutures and dressed the wound. "You need a pain killer or anything?" he asked as Robbie sat up and pulled the remnants of his shirt off.

"I'm going to go to work," Robbie said. Stacy's eyes were stuck on the pecs and abs she was being presented with. How was a girl supposed to breathe? "So, no. I'll be fine. Thanks for the help, Stacy, Chris. I'll square up with Mark on the way out." He put his coat on and zipped it up, nodded at Stacy, and left.

Chris let out a whistle. "You have got it bad for that boy."

"Ugh." She slumped in her seat and let her head fall back. "I can't. I don't have time. And I shouldn't date people that get themselves sliced up."

"Normally, I'd be in agreement." Chris was dumping the needles he'd used in a red sharps box. "But when a guy is acting cagy like that…I bet it's family. Might have been his uncle going after him for money or something."

Stacy tapped her foot. "He kept saying it shouldn't be happening."

Chris shrugged. "Probably just in shock. Though if you have it bad, he has it ten times worse. That boy likes you. Bat your eyes at him, and he'll be eating out of your palm in no time."

She held up her hand and frowned at it. "That's a weird saying."

"So not the point."

Stacy dropped her hands into her lap. "Fine. I just don't know what to do with this information."

"Uh-huh."

She stood. "I better get back to work. Espresso machines don't clean themselves."

"Hey, I'm about to call Paul. You and Alex can take the afternoon coffee order to the garage, and she can moon over John, and you can moon over Robbie."

"That's starting to sound like quite the moon-fest."

"Don't try me. I will tell Paul you like Robbie." Chris threatened.

She sighed and briefly hugged Chris. "Don't you dare. And I'll walk over with Alex."

"There you go. I'm telling you, eating out of your palm in no time."

"Sure."

On the way out she walked by…uh…what was his name? She glanced at his tag. Mark, that's right, who had a different kind of energy drink sitting on the desk in front of him. Guess that explained why he didn't get coffee. Too many cans of Monster Energy.

Stacy steeled herself and headed out into the winter air. It was worse without her apron, which had been a lost cause from all the blood. She'd tossed it in the biohazard trash hoping May wouldn't be too pissed.

She hugged her arms around herself against the chill and wished there was someone else with her to fight the cold. Stacy knew just who she would pick to keep her warm.


End file.
